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Fascinating numbers. The slower jumpers take more accurate routes. Jackie Bradley Jr has by far the fastest jump, but has among the least accurate first steps. The other side is Mike Trout, who has the slowest jump but takes one of the most accurate first steps. Who's better? JBJ by far.

Jackie Bradley Jr has by far the fastest jump, but has among the least accurate first steps.

JBJ did an interview with the Athletic and said something to the effect that he deliberately gets moving in approximately the right direction as quickly as possible, figuring he can always make adjustments as needed but the key is to get there.

Edit: Found it, referring to one particular catch.

"I actually had to make, the last couple of feet, I had to make an adjustment on it because it had started coming back over this (left) shoulder. So, that’s when I kind of leaned my body back this way in order to get this angle, because it was too late for me to turn to this side.”

Such a late adjustment, Bradley said, is an indication that he played the ball exactly right.

“You’ve got to be able to get back there in time,” he said. “And that’s why I say the last few feet are the most important because that’s when you have to make your small little adjustments. If you’re thinking about making those adjustments earlier on in the route, then you might not even have the opportunity to catch it because you won’t get back there in time. You’ve got to get there first. Make the adjustments when you need to it.”

Edit 2: Whoops, and now I see that they quote that exact thing deeper in the article. Coke to the author, I guess.

#5 - I think the average is adjusted for the specific opportunities for each fielder.

From the article in OP:

("Average" being slightly different for each play, as each type of play has its own slightly different baseline, based on running back or not, near the wall or not and the length of time the ball is in the air.)

I'm pretty sure all of the first 4 compare to CF average so the statcast numbers are probably reasonably consistent with TZ, UZF and IE. Rfield is the outlier here but I believe all 5 of them having him down substantially this year.

With numbers like Bellinger has, no wonder the Dodgers moved him permanently to the outfield, even if they spun it as first base being detrimental to his health. He has a heck of an arm, and if he is very good at outfield range, it was silly to play him at first.

On the chart in TFA that shows reaction vs route - the one with JBJ highlighted - it seems the majority of outfielders measured are below average in reaction. Unless there's a massive innings-played effect it seems there's something way off.

If your thought is "there should be a massive innings-played effect, because better defenders will get selected for more playing time", then we should also see a similar most-are-below-average effect on routes, right? The same chart doesn't appear to show that. The positive-route outfielders are about as numerous as the negative-route outfielders.

I suppose outfielders could be selected for their reactions and not their routes? As suggested, MLB OF aren't very well differentiated on their routes. And the examples in TFA suggest it's the reaction that determines outcome.

So maybe there is a massive innings-played effect here, on reactions. Good to know.